Actor Anushka Sharma has
rubbished reports that she is
dating cricketer Suresh Raina,
and claims to be ‘strictly single’.
The actor says her only connection with cricket was watching
the World Cup last year, apart
from her friendship with Sakshi
Rawat, captain MS Dhoni’s
wife. The actor says she can’t
even ‘place’ Raina (who, too,
was in the World Cup squad).

P9

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>> TURN TO PG 6

he Pakistan Censor
Board’s decision to ban
Agent Vinod has infuriated actor-producer Saif
Ali Khan, to the extent that
he has called it a ‘shame’.
“It is a shame that the
movie is banned, with no
offence to anyone, as the
idea is to have open films
between the two countries.
I was proud that this film
was to release there,” said
Saif, who stars in the film
with girlfriend Kareena
Kapoor. The board has

objected to the film as it
contains references to the
ISI, the country’s intelligence agency. Saif, however,
says, “The heroine in our
film is a Pakistani girl. We
were hoping that they
would appreciate that.”
The actor, 41, who plays
an Indian RAW (Research
and Analysis Wing) agent
in the film, says that it
draws references from the
real-life tension between
Pakistan and India. “We’ve
shown a few most-wanted

PHOTO: RAAJESSH KASHYAP

‘I’m not
dating
Shahid’
A

ctor Nargis Fakhri,
who was earlier linked
up with her Rockstar
co-star Ranbir Kapoor, is
now said to be dating actor
Shahid Kapoor. However,
Fakhri, 32, says that these
are just rumours. “There
have been so many
rumours that I just laugh
them off. I don’t know
how everyone knows
more about my
personal life than even
I do,” she said on a recent
visit to the Capital.
Speculation about the
two being an item
started when Fakhri was
among the close friends
invited to Shahid’s 31st
birthday bash in Goa
last month. The actor
says that they are
just friends. “Shahid
and I are friends
and get along well. I
find these dating
rumours really
amusing,” she added.
Is she still in touch
with Ranbir? “Yes, of
course. Not only Ranbir,
I am also in touch with
(Rockstar director)
Imtiaz Ali. It has become
tough to catch up with
them regularly as life has
become busy,” she said,
adding that she will be
announcing her future
projects soon.
NAVDEEP KAUR
MARWAH

CENSOR
AS BAD AS
CANCER?

PHOTO: FOTOCORP
PHOTO: SARTHAK NAGPAL

PHOTO: UNI

CHATWAL BRINGS NEW
GIRLFRIEND TO DELHI

After being spotted with his
new girlfriend Angela Lindvall
in Mumbai, American hotelier
of Indian descent, Vikram
Chatwal, 40, was spotted with
the 33-year-old Victoria’s
Secret supermodel at the
Delhi airport on Tuesday.
Sources say that the couple is
in the Capital for a vacation.

Mallika calls censor ‘society’s cancer’, Censor Board unfazed

Navdeep Kaur Marwah

The heroine in our
film is a Pakistani
girl. We were hoping
they (the Pakistan
Censor Board) would
appreciate that
Saif Ali Khan, actor

criminals who’re harboured
in Pakistan, which is a
known fact. Maybe they
took offence to that. But
ultimately, we want a RAW
agent to win and baddies to
lose.”
PTI

■ navdeep.marwah@hindustantimes.com

A

ctor Mallika Sherawat
is raising many a brow
for comparing censors
to cancer, and even as
the Censor Board seems
unperturbed, filmmakers say
she has a point.
On being asked by a
Twitter follower if she’d abolish censorship in Bollywood
if she could, Sherawat replied,
“Censor is society’s cancer.”
To this, the chief of Central
Board of Film Certification
(CBFC), Leela Samson says:
“Whatever Mallika has said
is her personal opinion. She
is a good actor and I feel she
has right to say whatever
she wants.”

Most of the fraternity
seems to side with Sherawat.
“I am all for freedom. Without
liberty and equality, no
democracy is worth its name.
Censorship is a blot on any
democracy. Long before
Sherawat, the greatest
thinkers and leaders have
said this,” says filmmaker
Pritish Nandy. Producerdirector Mahesh Bhatt says,
“I think Mallika meant that
the censorship of human

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CONNECTED
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thought can be cancerous for
the spirit.” He adds: “As far as
the Censor Board is concerned, we have come a long
way from the 1970s, but
there’s a longer way to go.”
Filmmaker Alankrita
Shrivastava, whose film
Turning 30 (2011) ran into
trouble with censors, however, feels, “Our Censor Board
has double standards ... item
songs where a woman shows
her assets is fine, but there’s a
problem with a woman who
speaks her mind.” Actor Gul
Panag, who acted in the film,
adds: “In an educated, aware
society, censorship should be
minimal. However, in a
country with a large illiterate
population, censorship is a
necessary evil.”

I am all for freedom.
Without liberty, no
democracy is worth its
name. Censorship is a
blot on any democracy.

Pritish Nandy, filmmaker

In an aware society,
censorship must be
minimal. But, in a country
with a large illiterate
population, censorship is
a necessary evil